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MetalWorks Round-up

27 March, 2003

Innovation with cladding

Telabon Cladding Panels from Technology Telford have been used on the eCommerce Innovation Centre at Pembroke Docks in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire. Made from aluminium composites, the panels are lightweight and easy to assemble. Their components can be recycled once they are separated. A wide range of lacquer coatings can be applied to the panels, which are available up to 1,500mm wide.

Best of friends 'Learning from the Best' is a DTI Partners in Innovation project being carried out by a partnership between the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) and the British Cement Association (BCA).

The project aims to search out lessons for supply chains from the multitudinous Rethinking Construction demonstration schemes. Results of the work will be launched at a seminar in London on 21 May.

For further information, please contact Andrew Way on tel 01344 623345, or e-mail a. way@steel-sci. com

Going green

The steel construction sector has launched a sustainable development strategy entitled Sustainable Steel Construction: Building a Better Future.

The new strategy marks the first step towards developing and monitoring indicators and targets for the steel construction industry.

You can view the document at www. steelbiz. org/ssc/bbf German stair master German stainless-steel cable specialist Carl Stahl has launched a new range of I-SYS 2003 products to extend its range.

These include a ball-joint system, based on the structure of the human skeleton, which can accommodate a wide range of angles. The system is intended for use on stair balustrades, and eliminates the need to determine all the fixing angles in advance. Another introduction is a green-facade kit, which is designed to simplify the creation of planted elevations.

Shade in sun and wind

A problem with many sunshades is that they have to be retracted in windy weather. Not so a stainless-steel sunshade launched at the start of this year, claims manufacturer Claus Markisen Projekt. The s_enn sunshade has a special section, developed with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems in Freiburg, Germany.Once the sun is more than 20 degrees above the horizon, the blind eliminates all direct irradiation. Yet, as the section is only 4mm deep and about 20 per cent of the blind consists of gaps, vision out is not interrupted. In addition, whereas most blinds cannot operate at wind speeds greater than 40km/h, s_enn can withstand speeds up to 55km/h. And when the blinds are not wanted, they can simply be rolled up.

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